Thursday, July 21st, 6 p.m. Daniel Coshnear, author of Separation Anxiety, and Molly Giles, author of Wife with Knife will discuss their books. 

At the authors' request, in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19, this event will be held in the Readers' Garden and masks will be required.

Short story authors Daniel Coshnear (Separation Anxiety) and Molly Giles (Wife with Knife) will be at Readers' Books on Thursday, July 21st at 6 p.m. to discuss their work. Both authors use the short story format to examine the uneasiness at the heart of the human condition, bringing to light the faceted interior narrative. 

Separation Anxiety is a stunning short story collection that shows how pervasive the disorder can be in everyday lives. In eighteen stories, Coshnear paints separation anxiety as an engine of change while being careful to tend to the delicateness of the disorder’s consequences. Readers become intimately acquainted with the captain of a SWAT (team), a mental health case worker who falls deeply in love, an elderly man who is driven to rage when his wife is buried in the wrong hole, and many more.

The speakers in Molly Giles's Wife With Knife offer their truths with surprising starkness, with vivid and tight prose. Many of the stories are not traditional narratives but glimpses of trouble or healing that lies ahead: teens refusing to heed traffic, lovers staring down death and betrayal and closure. Like a street magician's trick, Molly holds out each everyday tragedy or quiet triumph only to replace it seamlessly with another.

Daniel Coshnear lives in Guerneville, California with his wife, Susan, and son, Daedalus. He works in Santa Rosa at a group home for the homeless and mentally ill and teaches writing classes through UC Berkeley Extension, and runs workshops in the north bay. He is the author of Homesick, Redux (Flock 2015), Occupy & Other Love Stories (Kelly's Cove Press 2012) and Jobs & Other Preoccupations. His newest story collection is called Separation Anxiety, released in October '21 by Unsolicited Press.

Molly Giles has published five award-winning collections of stories: most recently, Wife With Knife, Creek Walk, Bothered, and All The Wrong Places. She has also published a novel, Iron Shoes. Her stories have been included in numerous anthologies including The O. Henry and the Pushcart Prize and she has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Marin Arts Council, and the Arkansas Arts Council. Her next novel, A House for Unwed Husbands, will come out in 2023 from Leapfrog Press.

Proof of vaccination or negative PCR covid test within the last 72 hours are required for all live events; if attendees do not have these, they will be asked to wear a mask during the event. Due to unpredictable shifts in covid regulations, we may need to reschedule events. Please keep an eye on our website and social media for any updates.